was transplanted into manhattan. how does this impact? and continueo do i really found it interesting. i ended up going into management and ultimately had a chance to to bring that skill set i have and i am so proud of two run a very small company. discussion of federal government. ,nd grew that from one office ofwere a freshman class 100 or so people to thousands of people. amazing people. and we of stayed really close. and to have that interested in and i saw some things that helped and hurt. me and i send out a newsletter i saw where state and federal actions enabled us to do things telling that what we are doing and different members and making and where it made it more sure we keep that closeness. difficult for us to do things. i learned to work with other host: back to the people you people whether they agreed with representative. me are not. how long would you like to serve that is how you get business in the house if they keep you? done. sometimes i made acquisitions. you ran for lieutenant governor i sat at the table with somebody at one point in michigan. was my opponent in the do you have larger aspirations of back home in michigan? workplace. living andce: i am and figured out what they wanted and needed so we could do a deal together. working my joining job. combinedngs i think i -- dream job. with the things that have shaped me personally have given me the

i have been given this wonderful opportunity. i want to serve as long as the ability to actually get things done. that is what i hope to bring. people keep me there. host: politix became something as long as i have the fire in my belly, i was telling my staff of all calling for you became a and walking down the hall and mayor. rep. macarthur: i've always been said, i never want to lose this interested in public policy and sense of awe. i still stand here and think roll. i studied history and focus on about the history. i never want to walk in just a speciali am in american social history of political history. and yeah, i ran for local office place. if i ever lose that, i am going home. and actually became a local workam truly doing public councilman and and a deputy and taking care my constituents, mayor and mayor. i really liked it and felt i was i want to stay here. pretty good at it. i have solved some problems that host: representative brenda lawrence, democrat from michigan. have been unsolvable in a town, 14 the district. a small town, not small but thank you for your time. rep. lawrence: thank you. midsized of 26,000 people. chris our profile series up then when the seat opened continues with republican tom macarthur of new jersey's third , i decided i had something to offer and ran for office. district. he talks about efforts to bridge the partisan gap. his family's charitable host: go back to your family for a moment.

you and your wife set up a charitable foundation. foundation and impressions of washington, d.c. what motivated that and what you do with that motive -- with that this is about 20 minutes. foundation? rep. macarthur: my wife runs it. host: congressman tom macarthur i am the secretary and of new jersey, can you recall treasurer. she is the leading personal. the first time you visited we started to do well in washington, d.c.? business. rep. macarthur: a great i grew up with a sense that when question. it was when i was a kid. you have been blessed, you have the first time i really remember a responsibility and a joy in being here and taking it all in helping other people. was not a long after i was married. we are trying to find out what i came with my wife and before to do with the things we had and children. ago, 32.ay 33 years we decided to create this foundation initially to help children. host: just as a visitor? charitable igh rep. macarthur: just a visitor. foundation. host: what surprised you as being a member of the 114th? and maybe i will take a moment and tell you about the name. it is telling for how we thought about it. buying myst suggested an incredible: company from its owners at the time, i had the first meeting privilege and tried to frame the with them and i was running it issues and move our country

forward and represent people already. they owned it. back home in new jersey and do they were interested and i came the right thing by them. back. you put your notes into a file and i gave a codename because i do not want to put acquisition of new york -- york. i gave it a codename igh. by the time i was done with the it goes from the delaware river acquisition, i had files and it clear across the state to the ocean. stood for in god's hands. the eastern side, the ocean side of my district, 30 miles of the most beautiful part i thought it was so far beyond uy a company. b of the jersey shore line. county as you get i did not have the money. towards philadelphia, a lot of i borrowed half of the money farmland and beautiful country. from the owners. we named the foundation that and it is a great place, wanted to focus on kids that hard-working people raising their families. were in difficult circumstances that might feel uncared about host: as you came here as a member representing, what were and wanted to remind them that they are in god's hands, too. some of the issues top of your mind or constituents they wanted you to address? at the time, we focused on

rep. macarthur: then and now, children and we build a school in africa that lost both parents the economy. we have had a recovery that does to aids. not feel like a recovery. and we did work in india for young girls being prostituted unemployment numbers are going very young. down but largely because people their mothers were prostitutes are dropping out of the and they are growing up in the workforce or taking part time red light district and wanted to get them out. jobs and trying to hobble together a living. it is really unfortunate but not over 2200ven away now a recovery at all. wheelchairs in memory of our daughter grace. that is what the people back as time has gone on, we felt the home most want to see if congress work together, need to do other things. we did a light -- a lot with democrats and republicans, and get it seems done to move our disaster relief assistance. . lot with wounded warriors country forward. host: we saw news article that said it you have a regular practice of entering the house and began to going to other directions. chamber through the doors on the we still do a lot with children. democratic side area why do do that? rep. macarthur: i started to do and it has been a great privilege to be able to see kids , sometimes you getting help, people getting help. go in one side and sometimes the other side. host: we are catching you in a couple of days before the end of i stop and talk to people. the session. and ever since which is been light legislative day. what is a typical day for you

really most of my time, i do it every time now. i see my republican colleagues here in the house? rep. macarthur: long. socialerent events, there is a mix of official events, political events. we convene as a republican duties like being at hearings or conference. i have plenty of opportunity to briefings and relationship be my -- be with my republican building, i will spend time with colleagues and less so with my other members. democrat colleagues. duringi took office and try to get to know them and them me. orientation process, the getting my mind around the partisanship is built into the issues i am voting on. dna of this place. and while it is hard to get if you are not intentional about overcoming it, you slip into deeply involved in every issue, being a republican or democrat i will not vote on an issue without knowing why i am voting with very little interaction. the way it is. even a suspension caused the it may seem like a simple toture but an opportunity rules have been suspended. i have a need to get to know people. host: have you seen other members try to make that understand what i am voting for. intentional effort of bipartisanship? i will spend time on that. rep. macarthur: yeah, there are there are some political classmates of mine that believe responsibilities beyond the official office. that we were sent here to make we have to leave government the place work and you cannot do property and go do that. , a lot to it.

that if you only focus on your own party. host: how is your relation with you can get away with it some of the speaker boehner and his the time on issues perhaps that team? rep. macarthur: it is good. have broad support against -- across party lines. the speaker has been incredible on issues where it could go one helpful to me. way or another, it does not cultivate real, genuine when i was running and since in terms of giving guidance. relations with people and the other party is in those are lost i have spoken to him on a number moments. of issues and he is been helpful host: tell us about your politically and outside of the background and the experiences duties. that you think trained you most host: your district is a tossup district. do you think leadership or qualified you most for the understands the political position you are in now. alwayscarthur: well, i calculation you have to consider as you prepare for the next round? rep. macarthur: they do and i said as i was running as a businessman. the things that have shaped me make sure they understand. and made me able to function and i am a republican for a reason is place because it is a human and so i vote in a way that environment are not just republican would vote much of the time. business but further than that. there have been key votes where i grew up in a middle-class i cannot support my party's family. my dad was a mid-level interaction and tried very hard government worker. my mom was a stay-at-home mom to make those known as early as possible.

with five kids. it was a pretty lively house. i just think it is my mother was a very liberal important part of being on the team. democrat and my father was a tools you say you are republican very conservative republican. for a reason. your dad was conservative throughoderate a bit republican. political your mom's the years pretty he is 85 now. my mom was a democrat and my views or your memory of her that father was a republican. you appreciate or you agree we argued religion and politics with? around the table. rep. macarthur: a few things. i think it shaped me a lot. my mom had a healthy skepticism mom mom, though mom about the use of power. that raised me. my birth mother died when i was because it can corrupt and be four. of cancer and my father had no abused. and i, i am very careful about insurance. i watched him work at least two the use of power. i was in my business and in this jobs. for most of my upbringing, three position. jobs. i do not know it but to pay for my mother believed government could be a force of good. so.ink sometimes maybe more family to stay together and have a life. it took him until i was about 19 i think she's a government to pay off medical bills from my mother's death and she died when i was four. involved in things i think are i watched his work ethic and a better left to the individual or state or local government. herrtainly appreciate

shake to my work ethic a lot. , 33t married out of college strong conviction that government can help. years ago. my wife and i had our first and in fact, that is one of the reasons america is a wonderful child was born with special needs. country it is because of the form of government we have and and that kind of group me up how it has been implemented. fast. host: if you had to give a grade i was in my early 20's. we had to make a decision that nobody wants to make which is what to do. government and we found out in the fourth month hurricane sandy and fema? of the pregnancy if she lived, : seema did some grace, would have severe handicaps. that shape to me a lot in life. things that were incredibly we had grace and she lived to be helpful to the people in my district. there, ite not been 11 years old. very, very difficult when she is hard to imagine the devastation. died. houses that floated away. very dark couple of years. roads and passable. we had adopted a child and another child about a year and a gas lines under the road that were bubbled up. fema did help. half after greece past. -- grace passed. but there has been great disappointment as well. those are the things that make a person a person. it is 2.5 years later and there make me feelat were -- there were evidence of

compassionate when i see people fraud that came out were struggling. my life has not been all roses. engineering companies were mismarking reports so fema could and i think government cannot do everything but the government get out of paying the claims. can certainly help. when i look at issues like see knew about that in 2013 and health care or immigration or came to light -- fema knew about job creation and economy, all of that in 2013 and came to light a couple of months ago. the issues whatever you might think of for me, it is trying to that is atrocious. there has been, from my perspective, not enough find were government can help real people have better lives. accountability. ,ost: given your background for that reason, i called for the director's resignation because i felt they had really your experience with your mom and health care, is obamacare dropped the ball. getting their rights? : unfortunately, i i feel like they did a terrible job of helping my constituents understand the programs they think not. i think free market is better. were eligible for. cases, small business the intent is good and i think there are things i will keep like coverage for the kids up to administration was making loans to individuals and normally they support businesses. they were supporting individuals 26 i think is good. and they were aggressively offering them will but never pre-existing condition coverage is important. these are things that came out told the people if they would be of the insurance industry and things insurance companies can ineligible for grants, the main

model. i support that. kind of grants that allow people i also believe we should have to rehabilitate and lifted their safety nets for those with no homes. access to coverage. nowt thousands of people i think the federal government is the wrong place to do it. i think state plans like that who are ineligible for the grants they need. would be a better place. in fact, i have proposed businessed i was in legislation that would eliminate that. it would make a loan which has and as the other major thing to be repaid in a secure not that shaped my life. host: insurance business? rep. macarthur: i got out of considered a grant which makes you ineligible for other grants. college and fell in love with my host: as you sit behind your first job. insurance claims in the new york desk, do you sometimes read housing authority. about not of the door by your it was an eye-opener. constituent? rep. macarthur: i never dread i grow been a farm town working arm and ihbor's dairy f it. it is one of the greatest privileges. we have two offices. i hired staff specifically to focus on serving those constituents. i wanted people able to get to know the federal bureaucracy that had compassion for people that were not get frustrated and

have been really proud of what we have done. we have helped veterans and people on social security that have been fighting in some cases for years to get the justice. because we got involved, people get checks for a few thousands. one case where we got somebody a check for $40,000 that had been denied to them. i never dread at that. it is what informs my proposal of legislation. most of the bills i've proposed have come out of interactions with my constituents. host: a couple of fun questions about your office. the broken skateboard on your wall, what is the story? rep. macarthur: that is my campaign manager was now my jesus in new jersey. -- my chief of staff in new jersey. he is a skateboarder. maybe i am too old for that. he is an active skateboarder

paris he did that. host: we saw the photographs of u.s. some of the new jersey cranberry and an instrument that looks very old rep. macarthur. : well -- rep. macarthur: